The Bad and The Broken

Chapter 43

Ryder's

Why is she hurting? What happened? Why is she here if she can barely walk? What the hell?

I stare at her at her table, all alone, as my friends chatter up a storm.

What is wrong with her? 

I noticed her hair staying to the left of her face, not letting it show... weird.

"Do you guys ever just wonder what goes on in a certain person's life? Like all the time just wondering about one certain person and what they do and stuff?" I hear TJ ask, "'Cause Ryder seems to be kind of obsessed with wondering about Dawn's," he smirks.

"Do you not find it even a little odd that she is always, no matter what, in some form of pain?" I ask, a little anger in my voice at the sight of her always limping and her face always scrunching when she does something as small as moving her arm sometimes.

"Ryder we know," TJ says softly, "we just don't think too much into it and get weird about it like you do."

"There is something up with her today," I say.

"Ryder there's always something-"

"But today is different," I interrupt, staring hard at TJ.

"Ryder she has a brother, and from all the stories they've told us, they like to horse play," Jenny says, chuckling a little.

I grumble to myself and get up.

"I'm going to figure it out."

"Gosh, Ryder, what do you think is wrong with her, huh?"

"I don't know," I say, frustrated, "just something."

Dawn's

I sit at my table, just staring at my hands.

I've done good avoiding Ryder and keeping my face covered, but not so good walking. I hobble and hobble and bite the inside of my cheek so hard it bleeds when I try to stay quiet.

I close my eyes and breathe, telling myself the day will be over soon and it will be okay. I will be okay.

"Are you okay?" Ryder's voice suddenly fills my head, making me jump a little and my right eye snap open. My left eye is still swollen shut.

I already know it's covered by hair, I had fixed it when I sat down, but that still doesn't stop me from being horrified of him seeing it.

I nod, a little confused as to why he's asking.

"Dawn," he says seriously, "you've been limping all day. Why?"

I stare at his face, getting uneasy in my seat.

I fiddle with my shanking hands under the table.

I shrug.

He passes me his phone and asks again.

"You've been limping all day," he closes his eyes, as if trying to keep calm, "why?"

'I pulled a muscle''

He reads it, and passes the phone back.

"Doing what?"

My breathing goes uneven

shit shit shit shit shit

I take a minute, racking my brain for something.

'running'

He nods and puts his phone on the table.

He stares at me, making me shake even more at the fear of him seeing my eye.